Chapter 18 - Marco
By the time I stumbled through the front door, my mom was in the kitchen humming, but I mumbled something about homework and bolted straight upstairs before she could get a good look at me.
I kicked my bedroom door shut, dropped my backpack somewhere near the desk, and face-planted onto my bed like a dead weight.
The second my face hit the pillow I let out a muffled, mortified scream into the fabric.
I couldn’t believe I had done that today.
I had a dick in my mouth. The Devil’s dick. Alexei Morozov’s actual dick was in my mouth and I swallowed like some kind of slut.
I kicked my feet against the mattress, face burning so hot I thought I might spontaneously combust.
I was going to hell. I let the Void King face-fuck me in a janitor closet and I liked it. What was wrong with me? What was wrong with me?
My phone buzzed on the nightstand and I froze.
Please don’t be him. Please don’t be him.
I peeked through my fingers. The screen lit up with a new message from A.
My stomach dropped.
I reached for the phone with trembling hands and opened the chat.
A: You looked so pretty on your knees, Malyshka.
A: Are you thinking of me?
A: Still taste me on your tongue?
I made a strangled noise and dropped the phone onto my chest.
A: Next time I’m going to come on your tongue so you can really taste it before you swallow.
I curled onto my side, phone clutched to my chest like I could hide the messages from the universe. My thighs pressed together on instinct.
Another message popped up.
A: Are you hard right now thinking about it?
A: Be honest, little star.
A: Your throat felt so good around my cock. Tight and warm and perfect.
A: I can still feel the way you gagged when I pushed in deep.
A: Next time I’m going to hold you there longer. Make you take all of it until you’re crying again.
Marco: Please stop. I have to go eat dinner soon. My mom is downstairs. I don’t want those images in my head.
A: Good. Think about me.
A: Think about how you begged with your eyes for me to use your mouth.
A: Think about how hard you came just from sucking my cock and stroking yourself like a desperate little thing.
A soft knock at my door made me jolt upright so fast I nearly fell off the bed.
“Uh, come in?” I called, voice way too high. I quickly smoothed my hair and tried to look like I hadn’t just been having a full-blown meltdown about getting face-fucked by the academy’s resident psychopath.
Luca stepped in.
He was wearing one of his favorite hoodies and carrying his new sketchbook under one arm. The second he saw me he lit up with that bright smile.
I smiled back automatically, the panic easing just a little at the sight of him. “Hey, little man. What’s up?”
Luca closed the door behind him and padded over to the bed. He climbed up without asking and sat cross-legged in front of me, sketchbook in his lap. His hands started moving in fluid signs.
I heard you have a boyfriend.
Mom said a tall guy came over for dinner. Said he is your boyfriend. Is it true?
Alexei wasn’t my boyfriend. He was whatever terrifying, possessive, obsessive thing he was.
The man who had killed someone in front of me, who had spent a year stalking me with his eyes, who had just had me on my knees in a storage room swallowing his cum.
He lied to my mom. I had gone along with it because I was terrified of what he would do if I didn’t.
“Yeah,” I said softly, forcing the lie out. “It’s true.”
Luca frowned a little, protective big-brother energy radiating off him even though he was younger. He signed again, slower this time, making sure I understood every word.
Does he treat you good? Mom said he was polite but you’ve been really tired lately. Is he the reason?
My chest tightened. “No, Luca, he isn’t. I’ve just been busy.”
Luca wasn’t buying it. He tilted his head, eyes narrowing.
You can tell me if he is mean. Or if he is making you sad. I will tell Mom and Dad. Or I can draw him something really ugly and stick it on his forehead with superglue.
A surprised little laugh bubbled out of me despite everything. I reached over and ruffled his curls the way he hated (but secretly loved).
“I’m fine, Luca. Really.”
Luca studied my face for a long moment, then signed again.
Does he make you smile?
“Yeah,” I admitted quietly. “He does. Sometimes.” It wasn’t a lie. Alexei did often bring smiles to my face; despite being scary he could also be really cute. Okay no, I should get that thought out of my head.
Luca nodded slowly, like he was accepting it for now. But his hands kept moving.
If he ever makes you cry for real reasons, you tell me. I will kick him in the shins. Even if he is tall. I am fast.
I laughed again, the sound watery. I pulled him into a hug, burying my face in his curls for a second.
“You’re not allowed to kick anyone, menace,” I mumbled. “But thank you. I love you.”
He hugged me back tightly, then pulled away to sign one last thing, eyes serious.
Mom made strawberry biscotti again. Come downstairs soon?
I nodded. “Yeah. In a minute. Tell her I’ll be down soon, okay?”
Luca gave me one more long, searching look, then hopped off the bed and padded out.
I flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling again.
***
The next morning felt like walking through fog. My throat was still a little sore, my lips felt sensitive every time I pressed them together, and every time I swallowed I had the vivid memory of yesterday’s events.
I was in the hallway when I heard the familiar sound of running footsteps.
“Marco!”
I barely had time to turn before Rei crashed into me - well, more like scooped me up. His arms wrapped around my waist and he lifted me clean off the ground, spinning me in a full circle right there in the middle of the hallway.
I let out a startled giggle, the sound bubbling up before I could stop it. My hands flew to his shoulders for balance.
“Rei!” I laughed, voice high with surprise. “Put me down, you’re going to drop me!”
He spun me once more, silver hair with its flower clips flashing under the lights, before finally setting me down, but he kept his arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug instead.
“I missed you so much!” he said, voice bright and a little breathless, face buried in my curls for a second. “You have no idea.”
I hugged him back just as tightly, smiling so wide my cheeks hurt. “I missed you too. Like, a lot.”
He pulled back just enough to grin at me. “Tell me everything. How is your mom? Luca? Did Sasha try to steal you again while I was gone? And wait, is the strawberry supply in your house still stocked? Because I brought you some.”
He was still talking a mile a minute when I felt a prickling sensation at the back of my neck.
I glanced over Rei’s shoulder and my stomach dropped straight through the floor.
Dimitri was standing a few feet away, arms crossed, glaring. Not at Rei, at me. And right beside him -
Alexei.
Those piercing green eyes locked onto the back of Rei’s head like he was already calculating exactly how to remove it from his body.
My heart started hammering so hard I could hear it in my ears.
I tapped Rei’s shoulder quickly. “Rei.”
He blinked, then turned around.
Rei’s whole posture changed the instant he saw them. His soft, happy expression hardened into something protective. He stepped slightly in front of me without thinking, eyes narrowing directly at Dimitri.
“Control your gaze,” Rei said, voice clear. “You’re scaring my best friend.”
Dimitri actually looked surprised for a split second. His glare faltered, then softened - barely, but it was there. The hard line of his mouth relaxed a fraction.
“Maybe don’t glue yourself to him next time,” Dimitri muttered, “and I won’t have to glare.”
Rei scoffed, but there was the tiniest hint of a smile tugging at his lips now. “Don’t be pouty.”
Dimitri’s ears actually went a little pink. He opened his mouth, closed it, then muttered something under his breath.
But Alexei hadn’t looked away once. His stare was still locked on Rei, and the intensity of it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I started trembling. Not from fear for myself - I could handle Alexei’s games, his possessiveness, even the terrifying way he looked at me sometimes. But the idea of him doing something to Rei? That was where my limit was.
I stepped in front of Rei before I could second-guess it, putting myself squarely between them.
Alexei’s eyebrow arched. For the first time since we had spotted them, his gaze flicked down to me.
Rei’s hand found mine from behind. He gently tugged me back beside him, not letting me stay in front like a human shield. “Marco,” he murmured.
Dimitri had been watching the whole exchange. He grabbed Alexei’s wrist suddenly, yanking him a step back. “Move,” he said. “You’re being weird even for you.”
Alexei didn’t flinch. Didn’t even glance at his cousin. His eyes stayed on me as he finally let Dimitri pull him forward. When he passed us, he slowed just enough to look down at me. The gaze was intense, heated, full of warnings. It sent a full-body shiver down my spine.
Then he was gone, walking away. Rei let out a long breath, shoulders relaxing. “He’s so rude,” he huffed, glaring at his retreating back. “What’s his problem?”
“Don’t mind him,” Dimitri said, voice gruff but noticeably softer than usual. “He’s weird. Gets like that sometimes.”
Rei crossed his arms, still glaring. “You also do the same thing.”
“No I don’t,” he muttered.
Rei raised an eyebrow. “Yes you do.”
“I don’t!” Dimitri insisted. “Only when I’m jealous. You know I’m sensitive when it comes to you, my little fairy. I need validation or my heart breaks.”
Rei’s cheeks went bright pink at that. He tried to hide it by looking away, but the blush was obvious, spreading down his neck. “You’re impossible,” he mumbled, but there was no real heat behind it. If anything, he sounded a little flustered.